Halloween Kitty: The Black Cat

The poster kitty for Halloween is the black cat. For all you cat owners out there, as I’m sure you already know, it’s always a good idea to keep your kitty indoors over Halloween, regardless of its color.

But back to the black cat, how did they come to get such a bad rap?

It all came about from magic….BLACK magic. The belief of witches and their familiars (black cats) arose to hysterical proportions in the middle-ages. Many a poor innocent woman and her black cat were put to death in England. And in France, thousands of the poor innocent black kitties were burned to death monthly. During the Salem witch hunts, it was believed witches would turn into black cats to prowl the streets unobserved. The Irish also believed that if a black cat crossed your path during an epidemic you were sure to die.

Interestingly enough, today both black cats and black dogs are the hardest to move in a shelter or rescue.

In other areas, the black cat is considered good luck. For instance, in Scotland if a black cat arrives at your door, it’s believed that prosperity follows. In England’s midlands, you may even receive one as a wedding gift, for good luck to the bride. On the Yorkshire coasts, many wives of fishermen believe that keeping a black cat in the house will keep their spouses safe while at sea. And pirates believed if a black cat walked away from you it was good luck.

In more recent times, to protect his mistress: one little five pound, blind, black kitty ran off an intruder that had broken into the house. To my way of thinking…if you’re lucky enough to have a Halloween kitty in your family, you’re very lucky indeed.

And on another Halloween topic…have you stopped by the Paranormal Bar and Grill? There is a trip through a graveyard, winged creatures outside a cozy cottage, a vampire hunt, a lair with locked spiders and alchemical rituals. Not to mention drawings for great giveaways. Just go to the tour tab. Good luck….I hope you survive.

Good for you, Planetary Defense Commander, for getting your dog from a shelter, especially a black one.
Now if we can get everyone on board with shelters and rescue maybe we can end the homeless and kill cycle so many pets end up in.

I adore black cats. We have two at the moment, and I can’t remember when we didn’t have at least one. Here in Oz, I believe that the prejudice against them is less. I have never heard that they are last to leave the shelters (which is where we got both Jazz n Jewel).

I just adopted a 4 month old black kitten from a shelter two weeks ago. Raven has settled in quite fine. She’s my second black. My last one, a male cat named Onyx, died from cancer after 13 years. I love all cats, but I have a special fondness for black ones, and they have indeed gotten a bad rap through superstitions. I’m glad there is folklore in the world that recognizes them as GOOD LUCK instead of bad.

Nice post, Sandra. And I’m looking forward to all the fun with the Paranormal Bar & Grille scavenger hunts kicking off today!